videoDoc & USI drive free student healthcare initiative

Ireland’s leading online doctor service provide USI students with free access and a chance to win a €14k car

Dublin, Mon Sep 10th, 2018: videoDoc, the Irish leading digital healthcare provider, is announcing their 7 day a week online doctor service will be available free of charge to all 374,000 student members of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI). The service will be available free from today until the end of the academic year (June 2019).

To celebrate the partnership with USI, videoDoc are giving away a brand new Peugeot 108, worth €14,740, to USI students who download the videoDoc app and register with their student email for the the service. Entrants have until the 12th of October to enter for a chance to win.

Speaking at the launch Síona Cahill , USI President said, ”We are delighted to partner with videoDoc to provide free online doctor healthcare to our members, alongside existing services on campuses. With the high cost of living and accommodation being the main factor in student poverty, our students can now rest assured that if they get sick they can be seen in minutes by using videoDoc.”

Ms. Cahill went on to say, “Part-Time students, students on Erasmus, and hundreds of students who are on placement will now have access to a doctor service, which is incredibly reassuring. We want to encourage more and more students to take their health needs seriously, and use health services available to them. Online services like VideoDoc are easy to access and if a prescription is needed, then it can be sent to the nearest pharmacy.”

With the academic year in full swing, videoDoc representatives are also embarking on a nationwide road trip to USI member campuses across Ireland to promote the free videoDoc access and give students a glimpse of the car they could win.

The videoDoc online doctor service has been embraced by the student population since it was first introduced earlier this year. In a post consultation survey of USI students who used the videoDoc service, 71% of students surveyed said they would have avoided going to the doctor because of both inconvenience and financial concerns, with 7% saying they would have gone to A&E if they had not been able to access the online service.

Access to contraception has been the most common student enquiry, with 50% of female users aged 18-24 saying they needed the videoDoc service outside of 9-5 hours.

The other most common complaints videoDoc sees are:

Acne

Acute bronchitis

Acute nasopharyngitis [common cold]

Acute tonsillitis

Anxiety

Candidiasis [vaginal]

Contraception

Depression

Influenza due to unidentified influenza virus with other respiratory manifestations

Viral intestinal infection

videoDoc is an Irish company offering online doctor services in Ireland and the UK. Using the videoDoc app or website, patients can log on from anywhere, including their sick-bed, or brand new car, and see a doctor in minutes.

Every doctor is registered with the Irish Medical Council and the videoDoc doctors are available 7 days a week from 8am to 10pm, patients will be seen in minutes and any prescriptions that are issued are sent to a pharmacy of the patient’s choice immediately after the consultation.

“videoDoc is once again thrilled to be offering this service to USI students free of charge for the academic year. We are very pleased that students are having a great experience and are returning to the service for a convenient medical consultation,” said Mary O’Brien, CEO and co-founder of videoDoc.

Speaking on the user survey, Ms. O’Brien said, “It was worrying to see such a high figure of students waiting for their symptoms to improve rather than seeing a doctor before their discovery of videoDoc. Students can been seen by a videoDoc doctor within a matter of minutes and a prescription sent to a pharmacy of their choice for immediate collection.”

USI is the national representative body for the 374,000 students in third level education on the Island of Ireland. USI works to improve and protect the lives of students every day on academic and social issues through campaigns, training and research.

About videoDoc :

videoDoc is the 21st century doctor house call. We spend our lives communicating with others on our mobile devices and expect to access many services instantly online, so it makes sense to extend that into how we approach healthcare. videoDoc is a flexible, professional, and very human online doctor service with Irish Medical Council registered doctors who specialise in delivering care remotely. Patients can access a doctor in minutes by downloading the videoDoc mobile app with doctors available for convenient care 7 days a week, 8am – 10pm.

The service costs €25 per consultation but videoDoc’s focus is on subscriptions with annual subscriptions available for €35 for an individual and €110 for a family of four, giving the benefit of unlimited consultations and no hidden fees.

Recognising there is no better benefit than health, videoDoc offers corporate subscriptions for just €28 per employee. In Ireland videoDoc provides health services and technologies to Vhi Healthcare, Beaumont Hospital, Clanwilliam Healthcare, the Irish Postmasters Union and McCabes Pharmacies to name a few.

In the UK videoDoc has partnered with a number of businesses, including, the Personal Group, Hermes, the Royal Logistics Corps, Cardiff City FC, Wrkit among others.

videoDoc takes its role as a best in practice provider of online healthcare seriously, with patient care being supported by proprietary clinical pathways which aid doctors in delivering a comprehensive service. All videoDoc doctors are registered with the Irish Medical Council, with at least two years on the Specialist Register, and have been fully trained to provide remote health services. videoDoc meets the requirements of GDPR regulations.